Boot or shoe former



A. SCHOSHUSEN. BOOT 0R SHOE FORMER. APPLICATION man AUG.13, I919.

Patented July 26, 1921.

warren sraresf TENT. OFFICE.

Artur-Inn seriosiinsnn, or PITTSBUBG, KANSAS.-

BOOT OR SHOE FORMER.

To all to/tom it may concern: 'I

. Be it known that I, ARTHUR Soi-ros-HUsEN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Crawford, State of Kansas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Boot or shoe Form- Y ers, of which the following is a complete specification. v a V The present ELK/811151011 relates to boot and shoe forms and aims to provide an improved and simplified form of light and adjustable construction, adapted to be readily and con venicntly fitted inside the boot, or shoe;v

Accordingly one of the objects of the inrention is to devise anovel shoe form structurecomprising toe and heel portions, with the toe portion of the form composed of sections having provision for both lateral expanding movement as well as for adjust ment angularly for the purpose of fitting the toe portions of varying types of shoes.

A further. object of the'invention is to provide a form structure of this character in which provision is made for producing both yielding separating movement of the toe and heel portions as well as a simultaneous spreading action of the sections of the toe portion of the form- It is also sought to devise a shoe form of this general'typein which the heel portion of-the form is combined with an instep portion, and the parts are so connected as to permit a maximum relative swinging movement or breakof the parts of the form.

'With these general objects in View, the invention will now be described with refer ence to the accompanying drawing illustrating one practical form of embodiment of the improvement, the particular features of novelty of which will thereafter be pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a sectional side view (partly broken away) showing a boot or shoe form embodying thepresent features of improvement; 7 r I Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same, with broken lines showing adjusted positions of the toe sections of the form;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a form showing a modified type of heel portion; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail View of the spring member for expanding the toe sections of the device.

Referring now to the said'drawing in de- J Specification of Letters'Patent. Patented J ly 26-, 1921, Application filed August is, 191.9.- Serial No. 317,388. v I

i tail, this illustrates the improved form as spreading movement as. well as. angular adjustment movement of said sections relatively to each other. i

' In opposite mating recesses 10 at the rear end portions of the toe sections 5 is m0unted apair ofilever elements 11, each pivotallyand loosely connected at its forward end to a pin 12 secured to the correspond iug. toe section. 'Near their rear ends said lever elements 11 are fulcrumed on a pin 14, and said rear ends ofthe levers are embraced by an annular spring element 15 having its endsrestingln notches 16 (see Fig. 4) near the endsof the levers in such 7 a way as to tend to spreadapart the front ends of the levers and thereby separate the toe sections 5. A link 17 engaging pins 18 carried by the levers 11. serves to limit the spreading movement of the latter in response to the springs action. The spring 15 is swiveled upon the front end'of a rod 20whichtelescopes within a sleeve 22 having its rear end suitably fitted and retainedwithin the heel portion 6 of the form. A sprin 23 is coiled about the rod 20 and sleeve 22 within a recess 24 provided for said parts in the base of said heel portion 6, and by abutment against the rear end of said recess and the spring element 15, re 'spectively, exerts a yielding action tending tonormally separate the toe andheel portionsof the device. A plate 25 secured transversely across the front end of the recess 245 by means of a pin 26 serves to slid-' ingly support the spring element 15 at the front end of the rod 20, thus holding all ,the connections between the parts of the form in their proper relative positions.

The above described construction, including the instep portion 7, is that which is adapted for ordinary top or low top shoes, While for pumps the 9 illustrated in Fig.

3 is preferable, in which type of construction said instep portion is omitted and the small heel portion 6 is provided instead,

The invention thus provides a simple and practical self-adjusting form structure fulfilling the desired requirements. of the device need be manually adjusted, as the form on being inserted into'the shoe adjusts itself automatically to fill out all the parts of the toe and instep by expanding forwardly and laterally into engagement with the shoe upper on all sides, under the action of the springs 15 and 23. The provision of the laterally and angularly adjustable toe sections enables the form to adjust itself readily to various styles of toes, such as wide and narrow or pointed toes, as will be readily understood by reference to Fig.

2. Further, the cut of the instep and its overhanging relation to the toe sections, and the manner in' which the same is arranged to swing with reference to the toe sections,

provides a sectional form having an extreme break whereby the device is readily inserted into or removed from the shoe.

While I have illustrated and described What is now regarded as the preferred form of construction for embodying my improvement, I desire to reserve the rlght to make such formal changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: 1.. shoe form comprising a sectional to portion and a heel portion, the sections of said toe portion being separately and independently movable and both laterally and angularly adjustable to fit the toe portion of the shoe, and means connecting said toe and heel portions of the form including means for automatically and yieldingly separating said toe and heel portions while simultaneously expanding said toe sections.

No parts to expand said toe sections.

2. A shoe form comprising-a sectional toe portion and a'heel portion, and means connecting said toe and heel portions includin a lever connected with each of the sections of said toe portion, and a spring associated with the rear ends of said levers and actuating the same to normally expand said toe sections A shoe form comprising a toe portion formed'of separate and independently movable sections and a heel portion, and means connecting said toe 'and heel portions in cluding a lever having a loose pivotal connection with each of the sections of said toe portion permitting independent angular adjusting movement of said sections to fit the toe of the shoe, and spring means acting to yieldingly separate said toe and heel portions of the form while simultaneously actuating said levers to normally expand.

said toe sections. 7

4. A shoeform comprising a sectional toeportion and a heel portion, a lever connee-ted with each of the sections of said-toe portion, and means connecting said levers ARTHUR SOHOSHUSEN. 

